Shiv set to tee off with an ‘old foe’

Greater Noida: When an angry Colin Montgomerie questioned the special invite given to Jeev Milkha Singh for the 2008 Augusta Masters, Shiv Kapur had asked the legendary Scot to just “zip his mouth” in a rare display of aggression by a golfer.

Five years later, the two are set to tee off together when the Ryder Cup star makes his India debut at the European, Asian, PGTI tri-sanctioned Avantha Masters starting at the Jaypee Greens golf course on Thursday. The two will start from the first tee in the afternoon along with Mardan Mamat of Singapore.

Interestingly, Jeev will tee off 10 minutes after them with defending champion Jbe Kruger and David Horsey of England.

Kapur’s blunt reaction to Montgomerie’s anger against invitations handed out to Asian players at that time is, however, a long-forgotten tale.

It just so happened that Jeev, who was in sublime form at that time and had broken into the world top-50, had been handed a special invitation to compete in the prestigious Augusta Masters for the second time. The 49-year-old Montgomerie, on the other hand, had missed his chance after failing to finish inside top-50.

Kapur took up the cudgels on Jeev’s behalf and minced no words in giving it back to the Ryder Cup star. “It’s a clear case of sour grapes. He should just zip his mouth and focus on his game,” Shiv had said.

For Jeev, meanwhile, Montgomerie’s jibe is a closed chapter. “I had a chat with Colin this morning. All is fine...,” he said.